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Pillar Universities in Russia: Bibliometrics of ‘the second best’

Author

Listed:
  • Tatiana Lisitskaya

    (Don State Technical University)

  • Pavel Taranov

    (Don State Technical University)

  • Ekaterina Ugnich

    (Don State Technical University)

  • Vladimir Pislyakov

    (HSE University)

Abstract

It is rather easy to identify the leading universities in a country, there are different established methods and indicators of excellence. Generally, it is more challenging to find ‘the second best’ universities which have the potential to become leaders, ‘the firsts’. In Russia, such an attempt has been made. The program of ‘Pillar Universities’ was realized in 2016–2020, in two stages. This paper analyzes the initial stage of the project and its outcomes. We aim to investigate how the program affected the output of the universities from the bibliometric point of view. The results, obtained by bibliometric methods, are encouraging. There is an increase in publication output above the Russia’s average growth. Multidisciplinarity, domestic and international collaboration also increase. Those universities which had no papers in the top journals started publishing their research there. The overall effect of the ‘pillar project’ is found to be positive. Bibliometrics is widely used for assessing higher education institutions and is free from local peculiarities. This allows using the observations of this study in a broader context.

Suggested Citation

  • Tatiana Lisitskaya & Pavel Taranov & Ekaterina Ugnich & Vladimir Pislyakov, 2024. "Pillar Universities in Russia: Bibliometrics of ‘the second best’," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 365-383, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:qualqt:v:58:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s11135-023-01645-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11135-023-01645-4
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